Rotary explosion-engine.



No. 894,492; PATENTBD JULY 28. 19am- I w. H. FULTON.

. ROTARY EXPLOSION ENGINE.

1 6. APPLIOATI'QN FILED 11ml. B. 9g B SEEETS BHEET 1 I- ll i Hon-1M3. jg I PATENTED JULY 28. 1903, I

W; H. FULTON. v ROTARY'EXPLOSION ENGINE.

' APPLIOATIONTILED JUNE 8. 1906. i

. 16 SHEETS-SHEET 2;

No. 894,4 92. J PATENTEIDIJULYZB, 1903.

.---w. H. FULTON. ROTARY EXPLOSION ENGINE. IAPPLIYOQATION FILED imm; a.1906'.

w a sums-455E111 3.

No. 894,492.. I 'PATENTED JULY 28 r I .w. H; FULTON.

ROTARYBXPLOSION ENGINE. I

' APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1906.

a annua -SHEET 4.

W4 h 1 1255a A all'otnmm fzlp" i h-[Memes w. H. FULTON. ROTARY EXPLOSIONENGINE.

APPLIOATIONFILBD JUNE 8, 1906:

a SHEETS-SHEET a.

PATBNTED JULY 28; 1908.

WIL L IAM H. FULTON, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

ROTARY EXPLOSION-ENGINE.

Specification of Letters yatent.

Patented July as, 1903 Applicationliled as s, was. semi m. seems.

'.'a all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM H. FULTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful In'iprovementsin Rotary Explosion-Enginos, of which the following s ecification aml'accornpanying drawingsil ustrate the invention in a form which I now re aid as the best out ofthe various dorms in w ich itmay be embodied. i

This invention relates to rotary explosion engines and es ecialiy thosein which the charge, either o air or fuel or'hloth, is raised inressur'e prior to firing.

oi'illoQttil type which employs its explosion cylinder for a compressorit is possible to compress the charge and explode it in the samecylinder with a comparatively simple niechanisin. Ina rotary engine,however, the conditions are somwhat different, since the pistonusuallyrotates continuously in one direction andaccordingly the problemof compression is a serious one. 4

My present invention provides a very simple expedient for compressingthe charge in a part of the same annular space which is n ployed forexploding the charge. .'hc invention further consists in an improvedmeans for controlling the cut-off of the charge admitted into theexplosion chamber andoontrolling the time of ignition,

in order that ignition may, if desired, a1;- wpys take placeatsubstantially the same pressure,

I further provide improved means for charging the compression chamberand certain improvements in the general construc- Lion of the engine, aswill hereinafter appear.

()i the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a v rticai axlalsection of a rotary explosion inotor, constructed according to thisinvention, Fig. 2 re n csents an elevation thereof, Figs} an 4 representtwo sections on the plane 3-3 4- 1 of Fig. 1 looking in oppositedirections,"Fig. 5 repre seats a section of the air compressor dischargetaken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig; 6' represents an enlarged sectionon the line" ti afi ofoFig. 2, showing the admission valves ,i niter forthe explosion Ch1LX11b1",'Fi s. n 8 represent elevations, showing theouter and inner ends of said parts respecfifi'tively, Fig. 9 representsan axial section,

n the'ordinary reciprocating gas engine showing the admission valves andheir ace tuating mechan sm.

The same reference charac' srs indicate the (same parts in. all thefigures.

of forward and rear parts bolted tog-ethos" and rovided with suitahiearrangements, not s own, such as a water jacket or radiating fins, forcarrying away the heat. The forward part of this casing contains anannular space 11 in. which operate the pistons 12 12. Two of these areshown mounted upon a disk or piston support 13 on the main shaft 14.

15 is a parallel counter-shaft connected by gears 161'7 therewith so asto run twice as fast as the main shaft, saidcounter-shaft carrying arotary abutmenawheel, valve or gets 18 forming one end each ofltheexplosion and compression chambers and con taining a pocket or recess,19 which allows the istons 12 12 to pass said abutmentwhee I am aware;that this 'initinentwheel and the rotary pistons broa ly are not new inrotary engines but I make use ofand mount the mechanisniin a certainimproved manner, as will ap )ear. lhe pistons might be mounted radia 1yon a central sup an"; or wheel rolling in contact with the melihwheel,but two rolling" surfaces are somewhatdifiicult to pack properly and i.prefer the arrangement shown, wherein both. the inner and outerwalls ofthe annular chamber 11 are stationary. The )istons iii are provided withpackings 20 on l othiiurir inner and outer or gee and the periphery ofthe ahutment-wheel 18 cooperates with a packing 21 in the inner waltoi'the annular space. 'Iaekings 22 22 also cooperate with. the peripher ofsaid wheel (in-the outer side of the annu ar space. These packing-3s arcsuitably held against extreme outward move ment and the" preferabiyreceive behind them the fluir pressures through suitable ducts, such asthe duct 23 leading from the compressed-air pipe. A similar duct carriesr y the compressed-air. pressure to the hack. of

the abutment-wheel 18 to maintain endpressure between said wheei and thepistonpackings 20, as seen in Fig. 1.

On one side of the abutment-wheel 1B is theexplosion chamber and on theother side is the air-compression chamber 26, both formmgpartsoftheannular space 1.]. Near the lowercnd of the explosion chamber is anexhaust port or outlet 27 and each isten 12 acts as its own valveuncovering sai exhaust port after the'completion of the expansionstroke. Near the lower end of the compression chamber 26 is an inletport or openmg 28 for charging said compression chamber and each istonlikewise acts as its own admission va ve for shutting vofi' saidport andtrapping the charge of air between the piston and the abutment-wheel 18.For the purpose of charging the air-compression chamber 26 and alsoclearing the mace in front of each dpiston successively of t eremnantofburne gases,l connect the compressor adm1ss1on port 28 with thedischarge of a centrifugal fan 29(bst shown in Fig. 1) connected by agear 30 with the gear: 16 and receivin atmos hericair throughasuctionport 31. could ispense with the fan 29 or its equivalent by duplicatingthe abutmentwheel 18 on the lower side of the motor, in

oneside of'w slobpressure and the other side would perform thec'ompre'ssio Q The two-piston ar- 1 rmenhhowejver, is preferable in manypipe 34 to an air reservoir 35.

res ccts;for,-- among other things, it enables eac istonio act as itsown valve, and also a ressure balance. Neart e upper end of thecompression chamber 26 is an outlet ort 32 provided with acheck valve 33and continuing in a From the atter a pipe and duct 36 lead to the outerside of the an admission valve 37 controlling the entrance of compressedair into the exploslon chamber 25. The valve is mounted to slide in aremovable piece or cage 38 which also holds the igniting mechanism. Theair valve stem 39 is hollow andconstitutes a art of the fuel duct towhich fuel is supplied rom a.-conduit 40. The air valve 87 is formedwith theseat for the fuel valve 41 whose stem 42 extends through thehollow air valve stem and is rovided on its outer end with a head 43. heair valve stem has a smaller head 44 adapted to be engaged by the head43 on the in-stroke of the latter. A spring 45 sufiicicntly heavy toovercome the. compressed air pressure engages the head 43 and draws bothvalves to their seats, said spring acting on the air valve 37 throughthe fuel valve 41. The concentric arrangement of valves provides anefiicient'mixture of air and fuel on ent'ering the explosion chamber.The valves 37 41 are c erat-ed by means of a bent lever 46 abutting t ehead 47 and having a roller engaged by a cam 43mm sleeve 48 splined to arotating gear 49. Said gear is connected train through gears 50, 51. and

(Fi 2) with the counter-shaft 15, so as to open the air and fuel valves37 and 41 in time with said shaft, that is, once for every *cyclpofapistorl12. f The ignition-device comprises a pair of electrodes, oneof which is a rotary electrode 53, havipg ai snap shoulder 54, while theother is an oscillating electrode 55, having a spring 5?." These aresuitably connected in a sparking circuit and a spark takes place whenthe shoulder 54 wipes past the elec trode 55. Fast on the stem 57 of therotary electrode fi l-is a block 58, having a stop plemental shou dcr 60tonne on thehead 43 when earn 47 opens the two admissionvalvcs. Loose onthe electrode stem 57 is a car 63 nected with the block' 58. by means ofa spring-.62. ,Ac'cordingly when the head 43 moves inwardly and arrestsblock .58 the gear 61. continues to rotate and whertabutment 60 releasesabutment 59 onrthc elosing lating electrode 55 and produces the spark.

the admission of the charge to the explosion cylinder and if theadmission valves cut oil earlier 'or later with'respcct to the travel ofone 'of the pistons 12, the spark will corros ondin ly occur earlier orlater. 'I have s own t e cut-oil? and ignition timed autr engine, bymeansof a centrifugal governor 61$ actingon the sleeve 48 to shift thecam a. axiall and bring different parts of its in-- clined edge intocooperation with the lever trolled so )arately from the cut-mi l andmight be caused to occur earlier or later than, said cutoff;

, The operation is as follows: Assuming the parts to be in the positionshown in Fig. 4, the uppermost piston 12 has just passed the admission.valves and these will e opened by the engine and admit a charge ofexplosive mixture of air and fuel into the space back of the retreatingpiston. At'a suitable charge is cut off andi nited by a spark ')ro--duccd: between the e eotrodes 54 55. [he inflamed charge expands untilsaid. piston passes the exhaust port 27, whereupon the waste gasesescape into the atmosphere. In the meantime t e other piston 12 hasentra ed a charge of atmos heric air between itsdli and the abutment-wee1' 18 and come presses this into the air reservoir 35'. Preferablythis reservoir-is large enough to hold diminution of pressure when acharge is withdrawn into't-he explosion chamber and I refer also to havethe com ression chamber l 26 larger in volume than t is volume of theshoulder 59 ada ted to be en aged by a commeshing with gear 51 andyieldingy con- Thus the igniting spark is always timed with 'Inaticallyin accordance with the load on the 46 The ignition might, of course, hecan point determined by the 'ove-rnorjiil this several chargesand'prevent any substantial of the admission valves, the shoi lder 54 onthe rotary electrode snaps past the oscilexplosionchamber atthe latstcut-off, so that pressureswill ick up at starting and tend torise."'lnde nite rise of pressures is avoided by reason ofthe clearance spaceexisting in front of the compressing piston afterit passes the dischargeort 32, or ma be prevented by other suitab e means. This clearance airbecomes tr'a ped in the pocket .19 of the abutment-whee and isdischarged forward into, the explosion chamber, which is then open tothe exhaust port 27 as indicatcd in Fig. 3. A scavenging action thustakes place, clearing out the exhaust gases and cooling the explosionchamber for the next charge. If any dead, ases remain they are swept outby the blast hi the fan 29' when the pispons reach the positions shownin Fig. 4, saidfan also serving to charge the s ace between the twopistons 'with fresh 'air,w ich thereafter becomes compressed in chamber26 as already described. 1 v

This engineis adapted to burn anyof the fuels commonly employed inexplosive engines. If gas fuel. is employed it may be compressor. Oilfuels directly injected will preferably be first pumped to-or above theair compression pressure. If volatile hydrocarbons are vaporized thismaybe done by means of an ordinary carburetor, operating as usual 'cxcet' -that it should preferably work under iul compression pressure.

The motor operates efficiently, undera'll loads, since the initialpressure in the explosion chamber substantially constant at varyingcut-oils and may be as'high as de. I

sired. The engine also of course possesses the advantage of substantialfreedom from reciprocating parts.

Wh t I claim as' new by Le ters Patent is:

1. Al rotary explosion--motor comprising stationary conccntric-inner andouter walls -forming an annular space, a rotary piston support axiallyremote from said space and having at piston projecting into the spaceand provided with packing on its outer and inner edges, a .rotaryabutment-wheel formed to permit the passage of the piston, a removableadjustable packing on the inner'wall of the annular space cooperatingwith the eriphcry ,of said abutment-wheel, .means or admitting air to becompressed in said annular space by the piston, and means for admittinga rhii rgc to said annular space, exploding the charge, and exhaustingthe exploded charge. A rotary explosion motor comprising a concentricannular chamber, means whereby on'eportion of said chamber is devoted tocharge compression and another portion to charge explosion, a pluralityof revolving pis tons operating successively through said per- 40 anddesire to secure tions and acting as exhaust valves forthe explosionbhambcr and admission valves for 3 thcicmnpression chamber, and meansWherecompressed by a suitable rotary'or othen" by compressed charges ofair and fuel are admitted to the explosion chamber.

3. A rotary explosion motor comprising a concentric annular chamber,means whereby one portion of said chamber is devoted to 7O chargecompression and another portion to charge explosion, a plurality ofrevolving pistons operating successively through said por tions andacting as'exhaust valves for the explosion chamber and admission valves.for the compression chamber, and a rotary abutmerit-wheel separatingthe explosion chamher from the compression chamber.

4. A rotary ex. osion engine comprising a structure formed with astationaryovalled annular explosion and compression space, apiston-structure operating in said space, and means to charge thecompression part of said space through the stationary wall thereof,

with partially-com ressed fresh air.

5. A rotary ex osion motor comprising a stationarywalle annular spaceincluding explosion and compression parts, a revolvingPiStODr-StI'UCbUIG operating in said space, and

a fan opcratedby the motor and discharging airthroughthe stationary wallof said space for chargingsaid compression part 6. A rotar explosionmotor comprising explosion an compression chambers forming an annularspace, a revolving pistonstructure operating in said space, a chargereservoir supplied by the compression" chamber and supplying theexplosion chamber,

and separate automatic admissionvalve mechanism between-said reservoirandthe explosion chamber, the casing of the-motor having an exhaustopening and a port for the admission of fresh air after the pistonpasses said exhaust opening. I

7. A. rotary. explosion motor comprising explosion an compressionchambers form,- ing anannular space, a revolving pistonstructureoperating in said space, a charge reservoir supplied by the compressioncham bet and supplying the 'explosion'chambcr, and separate automaticadmissionvalve mechanism between said reservoir, and the explosionchamber operated by the engine, the casing of the motor having anexhaustopening and a port for the admission of fresh 116 an after the pistonpasses said exhaust openin A rotary. explosion motor comprising astructure formed with an annular space, a piston-structure operatingtherein, a mov- 120 able abutment dividing said space intoexlosion andcompression chambers, means or exhausting the burned charges from theexplosion chamber, and means whereby a. scavenging charge of com ressedair is admitted by said abutment irectly to the explosion chamber whenthe exhaust is open.

9. A rotary explosion motorcomprising a structure forming an annularspace which ineludes an explosion chamber and an air-com- 1 pressionchamber, a piston operating in said a In testimony whereof I havehereunto set space, means for admitting charges of cbmfmy hand in thepresence of tworsubscribinq 10 Eressed air andfuel t0 the explosionchamwntnesses, the 21st-day of May 1906.

er, and a, rotary abutment separating said 5 chambers and having arecess permitting the Y WILLiAAM FULTON I passage of the piston andarranged to carry a. Witnesses:

scavenging charge of oompressed' air into the W. C. PETRASKE,

explosion chamberahead of the piston. K GEO. HJDIAGIL. a

